BACK TO OUR MEETINGS and ELIZABETH'S BIRTHDAY

Well we finally made it back to our normal meeting time.  It was fun over the summer to go on a lot of outings but I'm looking forward to getting back to our normal routine of meetings.

Since Elizabeth's birthday was coming up, we knew we were going to celebrate her birthday at our meeting too.

Elizabeth is also earning her Leadership award so she was in charge of starting off our meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and The Girl Scout Promise.

We spent most of the meeting practicing what we will be doing at our Bronze Award Celebration.

After we got our meeting stuff done, it was time to PARTY! 

Each girl gave Elizabeth a gift and took a photo with her.

The girls giving the presents are just as excited as the girls who get the presents.  I think this is nice and shows that these girls are really givers.

The girls all seem to really know each other.  They always pick out great gifts for each other.  Even though they spent around $5.00 they seem to find just the perfect gift for the birthday girl.

I really think Elizabeth had a nice time.  I think the girls made her feel special and important on her special day.

Now you all know I don't normally have my picture taken.  But, Elizabeth asked me to take a picture with her.  I thought that was so sweet. 

So, Elizabeth, this picture is for you.

We all sang Happy Birthday to Elizabeth and enjoyed cupcakes.

Everyone had a nice time. 

It looks like the next few meetings coming up we will have others with Birthdays too. 

Our next meeting is on the 13th and we will celebrate Jesse's birthdays.  So, all the girls need to remember to bring her a $5.00 gift and Elizabeth will be in charge of bringing the cake.  Jesse said she wanted a white cake. 

2nd ANNUAL BANNER PARADE and ANGEL GAME

For some reason the photos don't look that clear when they are in this smaller mode.  So please click on them so they will get larger for you and much more clear. 

I can't believe a year has gone by already and it was once again time for us to join in the fun at the Angel Game and to walk the infield during the Girl Scout Banner Parade.

The girls were excited and had been looking forward to this day.  They really liked their matching shirts (thank you Sara) and the Girl Scout 100 year Anniversary flags came in on time for them to wave during the parade.

We were pretty lucky this year because even though we were right in the middle of the summer, it wasn't that hot out. 

This year, the time we had to wait outside in the parking lot, didn't seem to be that bad.  The time went by quickly and before we knew it, it was time to line up and go inside.

Since Nikki is the Troop Assistant leader this month, she picked the order that the girls stood in to hold the banner.

As we headed towards the infield, we could hear the crowd cheering and the announcer greeting us.

I have to admit, it is fun walking out there and seeing everyone waving at you and clapping for us as we walked by.

As we walked around, we tried to find Trinity's Grandma and Grandpa, they went to their seats to watch us.  It's kind of hard to figure out where to look as we are walking. 

Then we looked all the way up and low and behold, we saw Grandma waving at us.  We all waved back to let her know we saw here.

If you look at the top tier, right in the middle you too can see her waving at us.

We walked by the dugout and saw a few of the Angel guys waiting to play.

A few more on the grass.  As we walked by them we all yelled "We LOVE the Angeles".  It made the guys smile and one yelled back "We love the Girl Scouts".

Once the parade was over, we had to walk all the way around the stadium to the gates we needed to go into and make it to our seats.

So, of course, we stopped for a cute photo of the girls under the big Angel Hat.

Then another quick stop to say hi to Mickey Mouse.

We all got stuff to eat for dinner.  Seems everyone had worked up an appetite.

There was typical baseball game food.  Pizza, candy, nachos, peanuts and yes, even cracker jacks.

It was actually a fun game.  Tied pretty much most of the game until finally they went into extra innings.

I think the girls loved when they flashed "MAKE SOME NOISE" because they really got into it and made lots of noise.

They all said they had a lot of fun and I heard lots of laughter and saw a lot of smiles, so I'm sure they did.

After the girls all bought a little something to remember the game by, we decided it was time to head home.  It was in the 11th inning and they were ready to head home.  So, we all said our good nights and started our long walk down the stairs.

It turns out the Angels ended up winning in the 12th inning.  Jesse, Elizabeth and Michelle hung around a little while longer as there was a concert after the game.  The rest of us were almost home by the time the game ended.

We had great night and this now means we have an "official" yearly outing at the Angel game.  We are already thinking about the fun we will have next year.

LEARNING ABOUT FASHION AT METAL MULISHA

First off, I would like to thank Nikki's mom, Sara, for inviting us to her work place.  We all had a great time and loved every minute of it.

Metal Mulisha is known for being a leader in the Motocross market and they design everything from shirts, pants, purses, shoes and just about everything you can think of...even umbrellas.

The girls were excited the minute we stepped into the lobby area.  They were all on their best behaviors and I was proud of how good they were. 

We got a personal tour from Sara, herself!  We found out that Metal Mulisha was part of a larger company and the building housed many smaller companies.  All having to do with fashion.

The owner treats the employee's really well.  He even made sure the halls were made from concrete so the employee's could ride skate boards there. 

Loved seeing this guy using a skate board to carry items.

They even put in small ramps.   I bet they have a blast working here.

The girls loved the skate board idea and enjoyed seeing all the fun things this company does to make working here a super place.

Another great thing about working here is, you get to see the newest and latest releases.  Plus, you get to see what the next year will have out in the stores.

We got to see how the whole clothing industry works.  Here you can see how they cut out samples. 

We saw how sample clothes are made right here.  They cut them out, sew them and try them on models to make sure everything is just as should be. 

Once they get everything done and ready to go to full production, they have places over seas that cut out a large quantity with a laser rather then scissors and the sewing is done in an assembling line.  With one person sewing only the collar and then it gets passed on to the next person who only sews the sleeves and so on.

We got to meet some of the actual designers and they explained how they come up with ideas, how they travel around the world to see the latest fashions and how they do the actual designs on the computer.

The girls learned how even picking out the right material for an item is very important.

We were very lucky that we got to observe a real photo shoot taking place for O'Neill.   I think the girls really enjoyed this.  After all, what girl has not dreamed of being a model one time or another?

Well, our girls don't need to dream any longer.  They actually got to take part in a real photo shoot.

This is the photo that was taken by an actual professional photographer and with the professional model.  Didn't it come out darling!!!

As we continued on our tour, we were able to go into the meeting room.  Big ideas and important money making decisions are discussed here.

The staff at Metal Mulisha was wonderful to the girls.  They would all stop working and talk to the girls about what they do.  Each one explained her part in making sure the clothes and apparel items sold are just what their customers are looking for.

It was very informative to hear all about the different aspects of the clothing industries and how so much goes into one item.   It takes a lot of people to make it all come together just right.

Here the girls are trying to decide which top, that will be released next, was their favorite.

Each girl had a different idea for which job they thought was most interesting.  Some thought the design job was was best.  While some thought the fiance job was.

They all agreed that they LOVE Metal Mulisha!  So, when they each got to take home a purse, they were over joyed.  What a lovely gift.

After we left Metal Mulisha, we went to the park to have lunch and play for awhile.  The girls talked about what they learned and a few even thought they may have discovered what they want to do when they grow up.

It was a great day and one that not many get to have.  We were very lucky and once again want to thank Sara and all the staff for a wonderful time.

MOVIE NIGHT AT THE PARK ~ GREASE

We almost ended up cancelling our outing for Movie Night at the Park.  It seemed that for one reason or another almost everyone in the troop didn't want to go.

But, Trinity and Brittnee really wanted to go.  Everyone was really happy we did too.  It turned out to be a super fun night that everyone loved.

We packed up the car with chairs, blankets, dinner and snacks and headed out to Central Park in Huntington Beach.

We got there a little early so the girls got to have some time to run around and play. 

We went down by the lake to see the ducks and click some photos.  It was so pretty out.  Beautiful weather.

They had some fun things for the girls to do.  Here they are racing to see who can get the light bulbs to light up by peddling fast on their bikes.

Since the movie was Grease, they had a fun backdrop set up to take photos with records and blow up guitars.

The girls were happy when they saw one of their friends from school show up too.   Ryan and his mom were there to watch the movie too and so they joined us. 

There were a lot of people that showed up.  This photo was taken early and by the time the movie started it was at least twice as many people. 

It was very nice though because everyone was very friendly.

They kept the crowd entertained and also handed out glow necklaces for free and even shot out t-shirts from a cannon.

Trinity actually caught one of the shirts.

The shirt was way to big for her but she had fun wearing it anyway.

The girls were so good!  Well, actually, they area always good. 

They had a lot of fun and laughed a lot.

The movie screen was super big!  We got to watch them put it up.  The frame is a blow up.  Sort of like those bounce houses.  Once it's blown up, they lay it down then attach the screen to it.

The sound system was wonderful.  It sounded like you were at a concert.

They also had some fun gifts to take home.  Things like little flash lights that attach to your key chain, lots of candy and some stress relievers that were shaped like light bulbs and hard hats.

Here Brittnee came up with a great idea!  Just like in the comics the light bulb over her head shows it.

Before the movie started, they were playing the sound track from Grease and other oldies.  The kids took turns dancing.  Brittnee decided to dance in her seat rather then get up to dance.

 
Trinity and Ryan got up in front of the whole crowd and danced.  I was impressed!

Then all of a sudden all of these girls started to come up from different places in the audience and got up on stage to dance.

It was really cute.  Turned out they were from a dance studio.

Finally it was dark enough for the movie to start.  As I looked around, I could see hundreds of glowing kids and adults.

Then it was time.

The movie we were all waiting for came on.  People were singing along and everyone had a great time.

We all want to go again.  It's a great way to spend a summer evening with friends and family and all for free!